GRAND RAPIDS, MI – “One Thing Leads To Another” by The Fixx is one of those 80’s songs that sticks in your brain. But you may be surprised to hear the message behind that song and the rest of the band’s music.

While much of the music from the 80’s consisted of simple party anthems and pop fluff, The Fixx had something to say. They still do.

The band is playing for one night only on Monday, July 29 at The Pyramid Scheme (68 Commerce Ave. SW). Tickets are $25 in advance ($28 at the door) and can be purchased here.

Their new album “Beautiful Friction” covers topics like the Mayan Calendar, Occupy Wall Street, 9/11, materialism, and war - pretty heady topics that come with equally infectious beats and melodies.

I spoke to lead singer Cy Curnin in a phone interview and asked him where the name of the album came from.

“Life is about compromise,” Curnin explained. “You grow up thinking that compromise is a bad thing but then you realize that it’s really a level of diplomacy and if you want to move forward, you have to negotiate and allow other people’s opinions in. It’s at that point of ‘beautiful friction’ you start to make some headway rather than being divisive and always blaming the other side.”

“And there’s a slight sexual implication in there if you like,” Curnin added with a laugh.

I asked Curnin if his band was always political and trying to send a message through their music.

“We were a little bit beyond the ‘party on’ crowd," Curnin said. "What was going on in the headlines was interesting to us. The band was formed when Reagan and Thatcher were having their political marriage, the Cold War was coming to a head, deregulation was in, and credit cards were being thrown at people.”

“We were angry young men and wanted to change the world. We don’t want to look back and now say we’re old but still angry. We know we can’t change the world but we can change our own world and how we see it.”

One of those messages hoping to change how people saw the world was “One Thing Leads To Another” and was aimed at politicians.

“Politicians just lie to get elected and then forget what they said. It’s all bull----. As a band, we like to remind people of that and to not just lie there like sheep and to wake up to their own responsibilities.”

“None of us are looking to be elected,” Curnin continued. “We’re un-electable. But that’s sort of the point. We can say whatever the (expletive) we like. We can poke sticks were we shouldn’t. That’s what rock and rollers do. Rock and roll music is a great platform for speaking your mind and not really being shut down.”

The Fixx's new album: Beautiful FrictionCourtesy Photo

So how do you make it on the pop charts when you’re delivering some fairly serious statements?

“Good lyrics,” Curnin replied. “I try and take phrases and match them to a rhythm in my head. And it’s the melody that dictates which of the slogans will jump in. Then the song starts to develop. It all fits in like a Tetris game, really.”

Curnin said those messages are resonating with a younger generation who show up to their concerts.

“We get people that are nostalgic from the 80’s and want to reminisce and then we get those that really do get the other side of it and feel agitated and are socially active in their own way.”

Curnin takes every opportunity to talk about change. He spoke about the activist group known as the Anons and the Occupy movement saying “even though it was a naïve thing and didn’t go far, it rang the bell around the world and showed people what social media was capable of. And one day when the right tipping point happens, it will be unstoppable.”

"When millions of people start saying the same word, they won’t know what to do. One day that day will come and I’m looking forward to it.”

Don’t think that the tone of their concert is dark. Curnin says the mix of old and new they bring to the stage is a “well-balanced and positive set.”

“We’re not an angry band,” Curnin concluded. “Our mandate is delivering a personal awakening in people’s minds to their own responsibility to being alive. I’m a messenger of a more spiritually uplifting time that’s ahead of us. That’s what I think our band is showing right now.”